


A Story for the Season

by itsonlyapapermoon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien and Marinette grow up, Capitalism sucks, F/M, Growing Up, La Ronde, Pole Dancing, Poverty, Spring is Marinette's favorite season, Summer is Adrien's awakening, adrien is a horny boy, alya is the best wingwoman, ladybug is a big flirt, stripper club
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23476216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsonlyapapermoon/pseuds/itsonlyapapermoon
Summary: Marinette is the young daughter of the bakeshop owners. As Ladybug, she grows up a criminal and a hero of the poor.Adrien is the heir to his father's fortune. Moved with the changing seasons, he becomes Chat Noir; a thief and a traitor to his family business.Their encounters are brief but significant enough to alter the course of a lifetime.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Spring

Marinette carried their picnic basket as she walked beside her grandfather. It was her birthday, but the sullen look on her face did not match the excitement she felt the night before. They reached Marinette’s favorite spot underneath the cherry blossom tree— the same one they would visit every year on her birthday. They, of course, referred to herself, her grandfather, and her parents. On her 10th birthday, only her grandfather was present to celebrate.

Her grandfather struggled to bend down and set the picnic in order. Marinette being the courteous granddaughter, helped lower him to the ground and began to bring the utensils and plates out of the basket.

“Do not fret, little Marinette,” He gently soothed, seeing the expression on her face. “Your parents will be joining us shortly.” Marinette only nodded silently.

She couldn’t understand why a strange man they had never seen before was more important than her birthday. Marinette had only seen the man’s back, an impressive and looming presence that disappeared into the spring day and had left the Dupain-Chengs’ kitchen in a somber atmosphere. The pancakes were abandoned and burnt on the stove.

Her father was the first to notice her and greet her good morning and a happy birthday. Her mother planted a half-crisp stack of pancakes in front of Marinette along with a soft kiss on her forehead. Grandfather was in their shop, busy preparing the bakery’s stock for the day. She had eaten a lonely breakfast as her parents whispered secrets in the kitchen corner.

Moments later as she had finished getting dressed in her favorite pink dress, her parents had broken the news, saying they had to work in the shop for the rest of the afternoon. To make up for their absence, they had presented her a handmade stuffed toy that looked like a cross between a red bird and a spotted bug— now dubbed as Tikki— and a big family hug as an apology. She clutched Tikki tightly and nodded and imitated her parents’ serious expression. The pig-tailed girl told them not to worry, hoping her parents wouldn’t notice the tears beginning to burn in the back of her eyes. Her parents gave her a pat on the head, noting how grown up their daughter was becoming. But her grandfather had seen the tears and volunteered to bring her to the picnic spot. Her parents promised her they’d follow them later in the afternoon.

Under the foliage of the spring day and the soft humming of her grandfather, Marinette didn’t feel so lonely anymore. She reached for Tikki in the basket who was nestled comfortably inside only for her to realize her new friend was missing.

“I must’ve dropped Tikki,” Marinette’s voice quivered at the thought of Tikki lost in the woods. Her grandfather blew his cup of tea as he called out as she began to retrace their steps, “Don’t run, Marinette!” As her tiny figure disappeared in the thick of the trees, he sighed, “Or you’ll trip again.”

Marinette stumbled over the tree roots and dried leaves. Her knees were scratched and dirty and her once neat dress was specked with soil. The clouds overhead cast the forest in an eerily quiet shadow. Up ahead she could see an unfamiliar figure holding Tikki. “Tikki!” She called out.

The boy looked up in surprise and stared at Marinette who was out of breath stammering nervously, “Give her back!”

The boy blinked and apologized. He handed Tikki back to Marinette gently and she buried her face into her friend’s small shoulders. The disappointment from that morning had finally caught up and she sniffled into Tikki’s fabric. It’s not as though it were the first time her parents would be too busy to spend time with her. Spring was her family’s favorite season. They loved the flowers and the warm air, as though the earth had finished sleeping and brought her dreams into the spring day.

More recently, spring came with the customers and tourists. Her family’s shop and cherry blossom pancakes were a town specialty. Marinette was used to these changes and loved when she was allowed to help in their shop: greeting customers and watching them eat her mother’s special pancakes. But it was still lonely to be forgotten on her birthday. After all, it wasn’t every day a girl turned ten.

The boy looked alarmed as she whimpered and collapsed on the forest floor. He noticed the bruises on her knees and the dirt on her arms and knelt down, not knowing what else to do. “Are you okay?” He asked cautiously.

Marinette looked up as though forgetting he was still there and met his emerald-green eyes. The boy had golden hair that seemed to glow brighter in the shaded forest. Her town was small and she would often play with all the children in her neighborhood. This boy was a face she didn’t recognize— plus he stole Tikki. She sobbed and wiped her snot with the back of her hand as she asked, “Who are you?” 

“My name is Adrien—” The boy hesitated, as though he would be found guilty at any moment for revealing his name.

“My name is Marinette,” She began to stand. Adrien helped her up, guiding her shoulders in case she fell over again. “And this is Tikki.” She held up Tikki and gave her a small wave.

“Nice to meet you, Marinette. A pleasure to meet you, Tikki, I’m sorry again for startling you.” He bowed to both of them in what she guessed was a practiced traditional Japanese greeting. His manner was downright proper and his speech glazed with an accent Marinette couldn’t quite place. But Marinette giggled at the boy’s formal behavior, “Just like a prince,” She thought to herself. Tikki knelt to a curtsey to match and Marinette clumsily mimicked the princesses she’d see on television, “The pleasure is all ours.”

Adrien laughed, amused at how quickly Marinette’s mood had changed. “If you don’t mind me asking, Marinette, how did Tikki end up lying in the middle of the forest. Surely, Tikki would prefer taking a nap in a more comfortable bed.”

A half-curtsied Marinette blinked as if only beginning to remember the picnic back in the clearing. “Right! We were having a picnic and Tikki was peeking out of the basket to enjoy the breeze.”

The golden-haired boy asked in disbelief, “Do you often have picnics in the middle of the forest?”

Marinette pondered on this thoughtfully, “Well, we could have picnics by the sea but the beaches are still too cold. We could have picnics by the park in town but the best place for picnics in spring definitely has to be under the cherry blossom trees!”

Adrien smiled weakly, “That wasn’t really my question—” He began but saw the excited look in Marinette’s eyes and was just relieved she wasn’t crying anymore.

Marinette talked about the summer festivals in the town and the fireworks display that surprises and amazes her every time she sees it. Her voice was low and dreamy recalling the fall leaves and the chestnuts she’d gather with her grandfather. Adrien could even feel the remainder of the winter chills enveloping them as she described the snowball fights and snowmen she built just last month.

He hung on to her every word, picturing the fields Marinette played in and a kind of empty longing filled his chest— nostalgic for seasons he hasn’t yet experienced. But Marinette’s stories welcomed him like a promise that the seasons spent in the coming days would be filled with new memories.

“Wow, I hope my parents would let me play in the snow next winter.” He smiled to himself, already picturing the snowy fortress he would build. Marinette looked at him with wide blue eyes, “You’ve never been in a snowball fight? That’s the best part of winter!” Adrien shook his head.

“But the best season has to be spring!” Marinette said proudly, swinging her legs back and forth. Her toes barely reached the forest floor. Tikki patiently sat between her and Adrien on a fallen tree.

“Why?” Adrien asked, curiously. Marinette began but suddenly remembered her grandfather waiting alone in the picnic. She jumped up, “Oh no! We left grandpa alone!” She grabbed Tikki and Adrien by the hand, “We need to get going.”

Adrien was puzzled, “I’ve been wandering in the forest for a long time until I met you. Do you know a way out?” Marinette chuckled and mimicked her grandfather’s sagely tone, “Don’t be down, little Adrien. You can trust me!” The boy blushed at her words.

He looked at their hands and before he knew it, they walked back to the clearing that way. Marinette was still talking and asking Adrien about his life back in Paris. He had been worried about moving to a new country the entire trip here but after meeting this curious girl who called a forest her backyard, he started to look to the changing seasons with excitement.

“So you just moved to Japan this morning?” She said and nearly tripped over a rock. Adrien reached out and grabbed her before she fell. He let out a sigh of relief. Marinette smiled already used to her clumsiness. Adrien nodded and dusted her dress off, it seemed he too was already used to Marinette’s clumsiness. “My dad headed straight to work as soon as we arrived in town. I followed him because I wanted to see our new store but I ended up getting lost in this forest.”

Marinette nodded sensibly, remembering the first time she had gotten lost in the forest. “So why did you go into the forest?”

Adrien’s ears flushed bright red with shame, “Don’t laugh,” Marinette nodded vigorously, “I was following a ladybug.”

Marinette gasped in delight, “You found one? They almost never come out until summer! That’s amazing, Adrien.” She let go of his hand and gave him a pat on the head. Adrien’s head barely reached Marinette’s bangs. Marinette's mother always told her that girls matured faster than boys. She wasn't sure what that meant but she was sure she was taller than Adrien. His face held a mixture of emotions— relief that she hadn’t found him odd, embarrassment from her wide smile and the proximity of her face to his, content from the pat on the head.

“You have to tell me where you found it!” Marinette exclaimed, already pulling Adrien back on their trail. “But we won’t have time to go after dessert, so we’ll have to go tomorrow.” She said simply.

Adrien looked to her with wonder. “Tomorrow?” He asked as if the word were new and foreign. Marinette’s smile widened, “Yeah! I’ll even let you try some of our pancakes. My mom’s pancakes are the best! Everyone says so. Then the day after that we can go to the teamaker’s house and I’ll teach you how to make green tea!” Marinette’s list went on and on and Adrien couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

It felt like no time at all since Marinette entered the forest. When they reached the clearing, Marinette found it was empty; her grandfather was nowhere to be seen. “Grandpa?” She called out.

Adrien looked around and asked her, “Are you sure you didn’t get lost?” Marinette shook her head. They heard a voice call out from the trees. “Adrien? Adrien! Where have you been?”

A woman approached them. She had Adrien’s golden hair and emerald green eyes. She looked lovely, like a portrait of a queen from Marinette’s fairytale books. Adrien looked surprised, “Mother?”

Adrien’s mother embraced him and held him tightly, “Are you hurt? Where have you been? Do you know how worried we were?” She held his cheeks and inspected him for any bruises. Adrien laughed and accepted the barrage of kisses, “I’m safe, mother. I was with my friend, Marinette.”

Adrien’s mother turned to Marinette standing dumbfounded beside him. She smiled and Marinette felt a warmth like the summer sun surround her. “Thank you, Marinette.” She said and gave her a hug. Marinette almost refused as she remembered how grimy and dirty she must have been but Adrien’s mother hugged her anyway. “Okay, let’s get you and Ms. Dupain-Cheng home.” She held out her hand for her son’s and Adrien walked beside Marinette. They walked out of the forest together.

“..and I come back tomorrow, Marinette invited me to have tea with her in her parents’ bakeshop! She told me her mother makes the best pancakes in the world!” Adrien retold her stories to his mother. Marinette watched him talk, happy to see him that way. She remembered him telling her how his parents were strict and would often tell him that staying indoors is better than catching bugs. It didn't seem to be the case with his mother. However, Adrien’s mother frowned and began to explain to her son, “Adrien, dear..”

They exited the forest and were directly face-to-face with her parents’ bakery. The words "Dupain-Cheng Bakery" hung over their store in pastel pink writing. An odd thought popped in her head; Marinette wondered how Adrien’s mother knew her last name.

Marinette noticed the police cars stationed outside her parents’ bakery. The same fierce-looking man from this morning was standing beside her father. Her father was a big and tough-looking man but many knew him as the gentle baker; he could never raise his voice at anybody. Right now, he hung his head in shame and guilt. She caught the last snatches of their conversation, “—a plot of some sort! Unbelievable! If my son is not back this instant, you can say good-bye—”

“Gabriel!” Adrien’s mother raised her voice in anger.

As soon as her mother saw her, she came crying and squeezed Marinette tightly. Her father and grandfather followed and with them came a volley of reprimands and ‘thank-heavens-you-re-safe!’

Marinette would always get lost in the forest, even for entire afternoons some days. Perhaps it was because it was her birthday that made her parents worry even more than normal. Perhaps they had felt guilty that they couldn’t come with her and grandfather to the picnic. Whatever the reason, she was thrilled her family could finally spend her birthday together and she welcomed their scoldings happily.

The rest was a whirlwind of adults ushering her and her family inside their shop, more adults inspecting the store, and many more uniformed adults standing guard outside. A lot of them wore crisp black suits, not unlike the one the strange man wore. The shop was closed which was unusual because it was just beginning to get dark outside; there would have been a rush of customers around this time. She had assumed it was because her parents were out looking for her.

Marinette held on to Tikki throughout the entire ordeal. Her mother and father would rush in and out of their shop, answering questions from the police and signing waivers with firm determination. Her grandfather kept apologizing to Marinette for not going out to look for her sooner. Marinette was the one who needed to apologize and she told her grandfather so. At those words, tears flowed down to her grandfather’s cheek. She wiped the tears away hoping that he hadn’t injured his back from the walk.

“It’s okay, grandpa. I’m safe and we’re all together now!” She cooed, trying to soothe him in the way he would soothe her when she would cry. But they only seemed to break his heart even more. She held her grandfather’s hand, with Tikki in her other. It only occurred to Marinette then that she didn’t get to bid Adrien good-bye.

A few hours later, she finished her birthday dinner with her mother, father, grandfather, and Tikki. They were about to slice the cake beautifully decorated by her father when her mother receives a call. Her face is grim when she drops the call. “Pack your bags, sweetie. We’re going to go on a trip!”

* * *

The End of Spring

On the car ride home, Adrien tries to engage his father in conversation; his father doesn’t hear him. He is too busy reading something on his tablet and making arrangements through his phone. But the air is tense and the airconditioning is blasted to arctic temperatures. Their gorilla driver doesn’t seem fazed by the chill in the air.

Adrien holds on to his mother’s hand. She wears her frown poorly and is tense the entire car ride. Adrien rarely sees a look like that on his mother’s face. He hasn’t let go of her hand since they left Marinette with her family. They were escorted away quickly by Natalie, father’s assistant. He takes one last look at Marinette’s face streaked with dirt and the silly smile on her face. He chuckles and allows himself to dream about what adventures tomorrow will bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HBD, DDV! And belated Merry Christmas! I hope to see you before the seasons change again.


	2. Summer

Adrien couldn’t understand Nino’s fixation with this bar in particular. It looked more raunchy and crude than all the classy and well-ventillated bars in the mainstreet. He stared up in exasperation at the red neon butterfly hanging above the bouncer’s head. The words “Miraculous” written in a curved script under the butterfly didn’t help to ease his nerves. “Sounds like a strip club,” Adrien muttered adjusting his collar to let some air through. Summer was only getting started but Adrien couldn’t wait for the season to end and the heat to be over with.

He could see the staircase leading down to the bar, its walls lined with posters of erotic women posing in suggestive positions. There was one poster on display beside the bouncer’s head. It featured a woman’s silhouette hanging on to a pole in a tight-fitting bodysuit. Tonight’s date was written on the top and the show title was written beneath, “The Miraculous Ladybug! Tonight only!”

This wasn’t how he was expecting to end his birthday at all. “Didn’t know you were a furry, Nino.” He mumbled, ashamed to say the words out in public like that. His friend laughed good-naturedly as though he had frequented stripper clubs daily. Which was absurd since he had only just turned eighteen a week earlier than Adrien.

“Bugs don’t have fur, Mr. Agreste,” Nino smirked, wrapping his arm around his best friend’s shoulder. Adrien quickly shoots a hand to cover his mouth. “Nino!” He hissed, “What if someone hears you?” Luckily an expensive-looking car pulled up at the driveway at that moment and someone important and equally expensive-looking cut the crowd. The people in front of them boo-ed and complained but all the bouncer did was shrug.

“Relax, Adrien! This is a clean place; dancing isn’t a crime, after all. Plus, we’re here to support my girlfriend!” He handed the bouncer is ID as proof he was well over the age of legality. “And who knows, maybe we’ll even find you a girlfriend tonight!” He called out, not looking back at Adrien who stood there frozen at the top of the staircase.

Adrien had stumbled down the staircase, eyes still adjusting from the brightly lit street to the near-darkness of the bar. The room was smoky and lights cutting through the haze in reds, purples, and blues. The bar wasn’t as crowded as he expected. There were dark and deep looking couches paired with a low table. A total of three circular platforms were placed in different areas of the room. The biggest platform was wide enough for three people to stand comfortably side-by-side. A formidable silver pole glittered mysteriously at its center. Tables and couches were placed surrounding each platform.

Nino told him he had reserved a table for them through his girlfriend. Adrien had never actually met her so Nino was the only familiar face he’d hope to see in the club. He scanned the dark masses for his familiar friend and prayed to God it wouldn’t be anywhere near the front of the big platform. He spotted him; Nino turned around and waved at Adrien. He made his way to him, thankful he at least didn’t scream his name out loud. As he reached the table, a pretty long-haired girl sat on his lap. She noticed him approaching and flashed him a friendly smile. “Alya,” She stuck her hand out. “You must be Adrien.” Adrien shook it gratefully, liking her already. He looked up, and lo-and-behold, their table was right smack in the center of the bar. “Best seat in the house!” Nino grinned. “Alya was just telling me about Ladybug, the main act for the night.”

Adrien sank lower into his seat suddenly all too aware of the proximity of the next table from theirs. He hoped his father hadn’t noticed he wasn’t at the movies like he said he’d be. “You’re gonna love her!” Alya poured Adrien a glass of some sweet-smelling liquid. She was thoughtful enough to sit on the seats instead of Nino’s lap. Adrien took the glass gratefully. “She recommended me here and she’s a good friend of mine.”

Nino proposed a toast to his best friend Adrien, congratulating him for turning eighteen and for making it all the way from the bar’s entrance to their reserved table. Adrien put a palm to his face at his friend’s jokes and couldn’t help but feel less tense after a round of drinks. It wasn’t so bad to be a normal kid once in a while. He was an adult now, after all. He deserved some nights away from his father’s watchful eye or Natalie’s rigid timetable. Being an Agreste— heir to his father’s billion-dollar company— wasn’t all too bad. A lot of pressure, sure. But not all too bad. At the very least, his best friend made sure his life wasn’t always books, fencing, and modeling.

The blinking lights grew dim, plunging the already dark bar deeper into darkness. A voice screamed somewhere to Adrien’s left. The crowd chuckled at their surprise. The smoke machine sputtered somewhere in the back and a fog filled the platform’s floor. The bar music suddenly changed rhythm and the electronic beats quieted. A woman stood before Adrien, all lights and all eyes trained on her. The room was entranced. She wore a tight red bodysuit spotted with black dots. The fabric and cut that accentuated the curve of her body. Her dark blue hair was done in pigtails. Not really a hairstyle Adrien had expected to see on a pole dancer.

Adrien barely heard the song play. She moved as though her body wrote the music. She danced gracefully in a way that made Adrien wonder if he could even call it a dance. She spun in slow and captivating circles around the pole, drawing her audience closer and closer to her performance.

It was no ordinary dance. Slowly, the ribbons in her hair came undone. When she reached into the air, it was as though she were reaching for her lover. When she crept up the pole, she turned away from his grasp, just barely out of reach. He had played her before, and she was only playing coy. But when she bent back down the pole, her body moved as if grazed by a feather-light touch; torn between wanting him and wanting him to pay. Both ribbons have fallen off, leaving her hair a tangled mess. Her dark red lips ever so slightly parted in a quiet sigh.

Adrien was desperate to see how it ends. At the climax, Ladybug rolled onto the floor, having finally escaped her invisible lover’s grasp. She reached out past the platform, nearly falling over the edge. Adrien found himself directly in front of her bright blue eyes. On the platform, her face was always half-obscured from the lights playing on her features. But her eyes shone as though undisturbed by the shadows. Her eyes lingering on his a moment longer before she spun back into her choreography. Adrien felt desire flare up in him. He ached to have her look in his direction just a second longer. He craved her body pressing against his. Her sultry breath hot and heavy on his neck.

Ladybug finished just as the music came to an end but Adrien was still mesmerized. She had made her final bow, her hair in tangles over her shoulders. Adrien had waited for her to bow to the center and he would catch her gaze and smile or look aloof and cool or wink and toast to her or something. Anything! Just to get her attention.

She had bowed but only blew a kiss in Alya’s direction. Her eyes had diverted from Adrien’s direction on purpose! Adrien’s mouth must’ve hung open in disbelief because she had giggled softly as she turned away to head off the stage.

The atmosphere in the bar returned to normal. Nino turned to ask him how he found the show. Adrien grabbed his friend’s collar and begged Nino to introduce Ladybug to him. Alya was cackling madly beside her boyfriend, taking photos of a flustered Adrien and chatting to someone on the other end of the line.

The night grew older. The bar crowd grew wilder as their bodies flooded with liquor and sex. Alya, being a regular worker at the bar, knew when it was time for first-timers to leave and hurriedly dragged Adrien and Nino out onto the street. A moment later, Adrien found himself tailing the girl of his dreams in an isolated alley and Nino wishing him luck as he steered his girlfriend to the nearest motel. Alya hung onto Nino’s arm and laughed into her phone.

Out in the empty street, Adrien felt his pulse quicken but not from the heat of lust. What if a mugger was waiting behind the dumpster? Or worse, if his father had known where he was going and had sent Gorilla to bring him home? He guessed another eighteen years of isolation wasn’t so bad.

“Adrien?” The girl had shaken him out of his panic. She had redone her pigtails and in the moonlight, her eyes were softer and gentle. “Are you okay? Are you drunk?” She was concerned, mixed with an almost teasing tone in her voice. Her face had snuck closer to Adrien’s. He could feel her breath on his lips and her nose was mere centimeters from his. No doubt she could smell the booze and smoke on his clothes. Ladybug’s legs had made their way between his thighs. She closed her eyes and Adrien felt his legs turn to jelly.

“I’m fine, thank you!” He jumped away. He didn’t realize how close his back was to the wall. Ladybug pulled away, an amused smile on her lips.

“Good! Because I’ll be needing help tonight, I hope you don’t mind.” She winked at him and Adrien felt his cheeks grow warm. She handed him a plastic bag and wiggled a finger at him. “Come along now.” She sauntered deeper into the alley, calling at him with a small laugh.

Adrien hurried to catch up with her, eyes creeping down to watch her bottom as she walked but shooting back up as he realized how much of a pervert he was being. Get a grip, Agreste!

“O-okay. Hold on, how do you know my name?” But the Ladybug only giggled and held out a phone with Alya’s face on the corner of the chatbox. He made a mental note to send Nino and Alya some gifts as thanks.

“I’d love to spend the night with you but I need to run an errand first.” She stopped in front of an unassuming vegetable shop located deep in the alley. She rapped on the metal gate with an odd geometric pattern in faded print all over its surface. A small face peeked out from inside. The child made a delighted sound and reached out to embrace Ladybug. She gave him a pat on the head and handed him a paper take-out box. She bade him good night and the boy hurried back inside screaming for his mother and sister that dinner had come.

Adrien watched quietly, feeling the boozy light-headedness replaced with a different kind of dreamy haze. Was this the same Ladybug from the club he had watched nearly an hour ago?

They had repeated that routine for several more places; a run-down book shop, a corner stall of a shoe polisher, a tiny house with three families crammed inside. Each time, Ladybug had patiently distributed her carton packs of food and greeted each person by name.

“Leftovers?” He finally managed to ask after the last pack had been delivered. Ladybug had tied the remaining plastic and pocketed the bundle in her jacket. She nodded and lead him to a small park in the middle of the suburbs.

She sat on the swing and Adrien followed suit. She began swinging slowly. It was odd watching her; the silver pole a far-cry from the rusted metal of a playground. The physical distance between them was smaller in the club. But here in the quiet night, Adrien felt closer.

“The manager allows me to take some out on a good night and more if I perform as the main act.” She began. “You could say it was the only reason I decided to dance tonight.”

Adrien hung on to her word and he said breathlessly, “You were wonderful.”

“You’re too kind.” But there was no teasing in her eyes. Her mind was back in the alley they passed. “Mr. Agreste, I don’t think you understand why I wanted to bring you out here tonight.”

Being the dumbass he was, Adrien replied, “Uhm, I’m guessing it’s not for sex.”

Ladybug cupped his face in her hands. “If things had turned out differently, maybe…”

Adrien retraced the night, searching for anything he missed in the signs— the teasing, the glances, the red of her lips. But he was at a loss. Ladybug only smiled sadly and shook her head, “That alley we passed was full of your father’s business partners.”

Adrien was even more confused now. All of his father’s business partners were important and respectable-looking men in business suits and expensive timepieces. Were those people respectable? How could those people be… Ladybug stopped him just as he opened his mouth to argue. “They used to live and work in properties seized by your father’s business. In exchange, they were given different pieces of land with the worst locations or the bare minimum living conditions as compensation. If those business owners were unwilling to give their properties up, they would be threatened or bribed.”

As she spoke, Adrien could feel his world slowly start to fall apart. Why would he believe the words of a lying slut over his family’s reputable business? He felt repulsed; at the girl in front of him, at the dirt-streaked faces he had passed, at himself for being anywhere near that bar tonight. This summer was slowly turning into a nightmare. Ladybug could see the turmoil in his eyes and she took his cold hands in hers. “You have to believe me, Mr. Agreste.”

“How do you know my name?” His voice quivered.

Ladybug continued, “The bar that I work in? That’s owned by your father as well. Did you think he wouldn’t know where you’d be spending your birthday evening? Our bouncer had instructions to take special care of you tonight. How do you think you and Nino got a seat that would normally take months in advance to reserve?”

Adrien could see clearly then, the bright red neon butterfly hovering over the word, “Miraculous” He thought back at their first stop that night; the butterfly pattern on the metal gate of the vegetable store. He saw this again in the sign of the bookstore, on the cartons of the shoe polisher, and on the windows of the tiny house of three families.

Stranger still, he recalled a memory from eight years ago of a young girl not much taller than he was. Her face was dirty from stumbling in the woods the whole day and she had been the one to guide him out of the lonely forest. She disappeared the next day. He had waited all spring but her absence had left him with broken hopes of a summer worth remembering. In her parents’ bakery now stood his father’s first branch of their franchised restaurant. The foundation of their business empire.

Maybe he had his suspicions from the beginning, only burying them out of faith for his father. Or maybe he had known all along that his father was a cold man. Cold enough to cruelly choose work over his own wife’s funeral. “Mother knew…” He thought to himself.

Adrien stood up abruptly. The air grew colder around him. All warmth from her hands left him. He stared at Ladybug, her hair glowing faintly in the moonlight. ‘You have to believe me.’ Her eyes said. He suddenly knew it to be true and found himself an even bigger fool for forgetting the face of the people he had met that same night. The same people who his father had thrown mercilessly onto the streets.

“I have to go,” He said. Ladybug got up with a heavy sigh. ‘I had faith in you,’ her eyes spoke. “Good night, Mr. Agreste.” Was all she said. Adrien grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “I have to go, but I’ll be back. Will you wait for me?”

His mind was clear and raced with a desperate desire to right a wrong— many wrongs. Ladybug stuttered, “I- I can’t. I have to leave tonight.”

“Where are you going? We have so much to do.” Adrien began typing on his smartphone, “I’ll be back to give them more food and provide them with proper clothing. In a few days, I can arrange for some repairs to be made. With some planning, we can have their housing secured by the time the first leaf of autumn falls.” He looked up to a stupefied Ladybug, blinking at him as though he had molted in front of her eyes.

He turned sheepish, realizing how pretentious he must have sounded to her. He searched for the right words to express himself, “I’m sorry, Ladybug. I wasn’t really thinking straight the entire night. It took me eighteen years to realize how foolish—” He couldn’t finish his sentence. Ladybug had tackled him with a hug and pressed her lips firmly on his. She had deepened the kiss and like the fool he was, Adrien Agreste froze.

Ladybug laughed into his mouth. It was sweeter than any kiss he had ever received before. “Did I startle you?” She asked. In the faint moonlight, Adrien couldn’t be sure but he could’ve sworn her cheeks were flushed bright pink.

All he could say in response was an eloquently put, “Hmm, muh…” Ladybug laughed sheepishly.

Her attention focused to the ringing in her phone and she pulled away. “I really have to go, Adrien. Thank you.” She kissed him one last time, fleeting and light. She looked into his eyes, “I was right to put my faith in you.” And disappeared into the night.

* * *

The End of Summer

A moment later, Natalie and Gorilla found Adrien dumbfounded in the middle of the park. He replayed that kiss over and over again. He would trade another moment like that for all sex in the world. Unless it was with Ladybug, of course. Then he'd rethink that decision. He moved through the rest of the summer night in a dream-like trance. And he remained that way for the duration of the car ride home.

It was only when he found himself facing his father where his mind regained its painfully sharp clarity. He stared down at his father's cold and harsh eyes when normally he would have averted his gaze in guilt. But not any longer. His Lady had put her faith in him and he couldn’t let her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Summer is a long one. I've been thinking about Parasite recently and Bong Joon Ho's work sort of seeped its way into the story. I don't know how to feel about it yet, so do let me know what you think in the comments! Thank you!


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